


Without Needing

by susiedrae



Series: Misadventures of a Mutant [3]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 12:03:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7976146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susiedrae/pseuds/susiedrae





	Without Needing

My radio crackled in my ear.

“Perimeter breach at the visitor checkpoint,” a voice groaned. I lifted my hand to my ear, muffling the sound immediately around me and closing my eyes. Outside of my line of sight, I could hear bullets ricocheting, but none giving the telltale sound of metal hitting flesh.

“Multiple subjects,” another voice warned.

The agents closest to me were already in action. I followed them closely, into the oval office.

“Mr. President, security breach,” Jones, the head of security, said quickly, sparing no time for little details. He wrapped his arms about the president’s shoulders as the man stood from his chair, ready to push him down in case of danger or pull him faster out of the way. “Let’s get him out to the car.”

“Sir, if you would be quiet,” I said calmly, opening my eyes briefly. “I am trying to listen...”

“The hell with listening; we’re under attack,” Jones growled. “Let’s go.”

“The exit’s not clear,” another of the agents, Mitchell, said sharply to his superior. “We don’t know how many there are.”

“One,” I decided.

“The shelter--”

“It’s not clear!”

“Mr. President, I need you to listen to me,” I began. “Do not be alarmed; this man will not reach you.”

“It’s outside the Oval Office.”

“Grayson, are you be able to stop this?” President Joseph McKenna asked me seriously, shaking Jones’ hands off of him. I nodded confidently.

“Agents, I want a two man ring around the president, behind the desk. No one is to discharge their weapons unless I give the order,” I commanded. Jones snarled at me.

“This is my jurisdiction,  _ Grayson _ . You are an experimental--”

“I’m not an experimental anything, I am your commanding officer because this falls under  _ my _ jurisdiction, Jones. This attack is led by one man, a mutant with the ability to transport. His mind is clouded, he is likely being controlled by a third party and therefore not our direct enemy. I will be able to stop him and then he, by our ordinances, will be placed under my care until such a time as my organization releases him to Colonel Stryker.”

“That’s-”

“Correct,” President McKenna interrupted, meeting my eyes.

“Sir, she is a mutant! She could be this man’s inside source, a mole!” Jones argued. I glared at him.

“His ability to transport negates any need for an inside source. We should consider ourselves fortunate that whoever is controlling this man wants a public spectacle, otherwise he would have transported directly into this office, assassinate the president, and be on his merry way before any of us were aware of the situation.”

The sounds of gunfire in the office just outside rang loud and clear, accented by a whooshing sound that I connected with the mutant’s teleportation ability. The gunfire died down very quickly, ending with a final thud against one of the doors into the office that I recognized as a body hitting the door. I closed my eyes, waiting for the door to-

The door slammed open and I whipped my hands out in front of me, concentrating to look past the bluish smoke that filtered in from the secretarial office.

Everything in the room ceased to move. Every agent froze where they stood, guns trained on the blue smoke. A bead of sweat dripped down my face as the president looked around, startled.

“What-?”

“Don’t be afraid, Mr. President. What the agents are experiencing is a state of mental paralysis. They are very much alive, simply unaware for now. I couldn’t trust them to not fire upon our visitor.”

“Then you are in league with him?” Joseph asked, leaning away from me warily. I shook my head, breathing heavily.

“Hardly... This state... It is a very complex trick that gets more difficult for each person I affect. I did not want to even risk your awareness, and I needed a witness to see how I handle our visitor in case Jones accuses me of espionage  _ again _ . I have not touched your mind since I began working here, that I can promise you.”

“But the others? You’re willing to risk their minds?” he asked, still looking very shaken.

“It is a very minimal risk. So minimal I am willing to use it... But further talk must wait. I can’t keep this state up much longer. For now...” I drew my right hand closer to me and, out of the smoke, a figure flew forward, frozen in time. I rested the man upon the couch, carefully navigating my way towards him. “Mr. President, if you would confiscate your agents’ guns, I can release them from their mental paralysis without risk of them harming our visitor.”

“Y- Sure,” he stammered, still appearing very unsettled as he walked about the room, prying the guns from his men’s hands. Once all the guns were safely on the president’s desk, I released the men from their paralysis, keeping my attention on the mutant before me.

“Grayson, I am not willing to-” Jones stopped shouting very suddenly, his eyes widening as he realized his gun had somehow left his hands. I watched as his eyes searched the room, stopping once they found me just as I pulled out a small envelope from within my suit jacket and, from within it, took out a small transdermal patch. Peeling off the thin plastic, I stuck the patch onto the mutant’s neck, careful not to touch the medicated side of the patch.

“What the hell is going on here?” Jones demanded, finding his gun and leveling it at me.

“Mr. President, if you would,” I sighed. As I handcuffed the blue mutant, Joseph briefly explained what had happened. Jones was, in no uncertain terms, furious. I only half-listened, searching the mutant for a weapon.

“Sir, this is in direct violation of-”

“She saved my life,” the president said clearly. “As a member of my security detail, she performed her duty quite admirably.”

I groaned, finding the would-be murder weapon in the mutant’s right sock. The knife was elegantly made, with a razor sharp edge. More important than the knife’s dimensions, though, was the red ribbon tied to its end.

_ ‘Mutant Freedom Now’ _ .  _ The press is going to have a field day with this one. _

“Jones. This definitely falls under my jurisdiction,” I sighed tiredly, holding up the knife. “I must report to my leader, Mr. President.”

“The elusive head of the X-Men? Why doesn’t he come to Washington?” Jones grumbled irritably. I met his gaze levelly.

“So you can treat him as disrespectfully as you’ve treated me in the seven months I’ve worked as liaison? I don’t think so, Agent Jones.” I turned to face the president. “Mr. President, you have so far been an important proponent for mutant rights. I need your reassurance that the actions of a radical group, such as the one that I personally suspect to be behind this, will not discourage you.”

“Sir, you were just attacked by a mutant,” Jones cried out.

“And I was just saved by one,” Joseph reminded him seriously. He thought silently for a long moment before turning to me. “Ms. Grayson, you may tell your leader that it will take more than a blue man with a knife to change my mind. However, I will need to meet with my advisors on the matter.”

“As liaison to the X-Men, Mr. President, I must ask that I am included in these discussions,” I said as the president reached for the bourbon. 

“Fine, fine... But for now, I need a drink.”

* * *

As soon as I was away from the White House’s listening devices and prying eyes, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a familiar number. After a few rings, someone on the other line picked up.

“Hello?”

“Charles, it’s Re. We had a situation at the White House today.”

“What sort of situation?” Charles’ voice was cautious, almost wary, so I didn’t bother to beat around the bush.

“A mutant broke through security. He beat through the Secret Service agents until he was inside the Oval Office. I dealt with the situation before it got any further out of hand. The president was unhurt and the mutant is currently sedated and powerless. As per the ordinance Hank helped set up, he’s under my jurisdiction so-”

“So you called to ask for someone to come pick him up?”

“Exactly.”

“... I can send Ororo to Washington tomorrow morning.”

“Great... You will need to see to this one specifically, Charles. When he broke into the office, his mind was... clouded, somehow. I suspect that he was being controlled by another person. The only thing wrong with that theory...”

“Is that the Brotherhood of Mutants does not have a telepath that we are aware of, meaning that this could be an attack launched by a completely new organization. A situation indeed.” Charles fell silent for some time, during which I heard distant voices through his line. “You will be required back at the mansion soon, Korena.”

“I understand. I’ll come back as soon as the meeting with Mystique and Stryker is over. Any word of Logan yet?”

“Not yet, but I doubt he’ll be much longer.”

“He won’t be much longer because you didn’t want me to tell him about Alkali’s lower levels,” I said tensely. I could hear Charles sigh on the other side of the phone. “I know, for his own good, mental health, etc. It just bothers me to no end that either one of us could break down that mental...”

“It is for the best, Korena.”

“Is it, Charles? Logan, Jean, Rogue; have we truly done everything for the best?”

“We can debate that on another day. Ororo will rendezvous with you in the same location tomorrow afternoon. She will call you when she is ready for the transfer.”

“This conversation is far from over, Charles."

 


End file.
